Room Thirteen sent Mark Hunter a quick email for a post-Download discussion...
R13: You've played with a lot of the bands on the bill at Download... Is it good to see bands you've played with previously in one place like this?
MH: We love the festival setting for two reasons. Reason number one: because we get to play in front of such a large crowd and showcase our music to a lot of new people. Reason number two: it is a huge family reunion. For us bands to get a day or two or three to hang out and kick back together means the world to us. It's just like going home and visiting your family and seeing that sexy cousin you haven't seen in a while...wait did I just type that?
R13:What changes have you had to do in order to make sure your band remains at the top of the genre you're playing?
MH: We haven't really changed our live show that much. I think the fact that because we constantly deliver a show our fans are pleased with, the word is spread that we are a good live band. We never go up and half ass it. Something we have been doing now that we never have before is change the set up every night. We used to play the same set over and over again and that gets boring, now we like to throw in whatever we feel like playing. Some nights it may be the same but some nights totally different.
R13:Are you ever worried by fierce competition from newer bands?
MH: I never have and never will care about any other bands as far as competition. There is always someone better and if you spend one minute worrying about that is one minute not worrying about your own show.
R13: What was it like playing with Lacuna Coil - are they so different to your band? How big is the band crossover?
MH: Lacuna are great, who wants to see 23 Chimaira's play a festival. That is so boring. It's great to have diversity, and since we are friends and fans of Lacuna that is great for us.
R13: How about Slipknot?
MH: See above answer and add that we spent weeks on the road with Slipknot. They are some of our closest friends.
R13: Do you find that people have a hard time appreciating your music because it's heavy?
MH: Well, heavy music is not for everyone. I also know that we can't please everyone, so if people don't like us it doesn't effect us. What is strange though is you might be surprised by how many people actually do like Chimaira who are not into heavy music at all. The ratio is probably more then you would think.
R13: Do you have trouble appreciating softer music or is this a kind of mental mind block that runs just one-way with fans of soft music not liking your style?
MH: The stupidest misconception in the world is that bands that play metal only listen to metal. Even the most die hard fan listens to something else every now and then. To be honest I hardly listen to metal at all anymore because I am around it every day. I need to hear something else.
R13: Why do you play such aggressive sounding music? Is aggressive even the right word to use? Does it mean you're an angrier person than most, or
do you just have a more vicious way of showing your feelings than bands such as Coldplay?
MH: I would say we are more energized. When you come see Chimaira you are getting your emotions out at 200mph. When you go see Coldplay it's like you just took 20 sleeping pills.
R13: When is your next record out and what can we expect from it?
MH: August 8th and it is a breath of fresh air.